W-S to host 2011 State Games

The new president of Visit Winston-Salem is already making good on a vow to push the Twin City as a sports destination.

Richard Geiger, who took his post Feb. 1, promised to make sports tourism one of his priorities for Winston-Salem. After officials with the Powerade State Games of North Carolina visited in March, Geiger won a commitment to host the games in Winston-Salem for 2011 and 2012.

This year’s games, to be held in Charlotte in June, are expected to draw more than 14,000 athletes. Geiger said the event will likely sell more than 2,000 hotel room nights in Forsyth County each of the next two years.

“They’ll be staying here for a week to 10 days, so it’s a nice piece of business to have before we really get into the peak summer travel season,” Geiger said.

“Not only is it good news from an economic standpoint, but it gives us a chance to showcase our community to a lot of high school students who are deciding where to go to college,” Geiger said.

Geiger chose sports as one of his early goals because he said it’s a relatively recession-resistant area of tourism.

“Regardless of the price of gas or what happened on the stock market, people are going to get in the car and go to games,” he said. “You might cancel your vacation, but not your child’s participation in a sporting event.”

Winston-Salem is also pursuing two other high-profile sporting events. The city is vying with Asheville; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and North Charleston, S.C.; to host the 2013 and 2014 Southern Conference men’s basketball tournament. Conference officials will likely visit Winston-Salem in May before deciding.

And Bucky Dame, director of public assembly facilities at the Winston-Salem Entertainment Sports Complex, said officials are studying potential bids for two tennis events — the Fed Cup World Finals Nov. 6-7, and the Davis Cup, which the U.S. team could host in September.

Dame said both will require support from local businesses. The Fed Cup bid needs at least a $200,000 sponsorship agreement, and the Davis Cup requires $400,000.

Winston-Salem hosted the Davis Cup in 2001 and 2008 but has never hosted a Fed Cup, which could help its bid, Dame said.

The United States Tennis Association “has been very pleased with their experiences here,” Dame said. “But at the same time, they like to spread their events around.”